


don't ruin this on me

by lovelyjo



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Amnesty, Episode Tag, Gen, M/M, POV Outsider, post episode 20
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 01:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17458286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelyjo/pseuds/lovelyjo
Summary: A couple of conversations between Ned Chicane and Boyd Mosche.Or, Ned and Boyd right after Boyd presents Ned with an ultimatum and photos of Amnesty Lodge.





	don't ruin this on me

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I know Boyd has had like two minutes of screen-time but I am so interested in the dynamic between him and Ned. I love thief stories. 
> 
> This is less a prediction about what will happen with Ned and Boyd and more that I just want these characters to talk to each other! I also love outsider pov stories and there's so much happening with Ned right now that Boyd has no clue about. It's fun! 
> 
> Some context on how I characterize Boyd, because we know so little about him, but I genuinely think he's a good guy. I think he and Ned have similar morals and he probably is feeling like he was "rehabilitated" in prison because in many aspects he probably did grow. Though, it's pretty clear he hasn't processed his feelings about Ned's betrayal if he's running this revenge con. Though, Ned definitely hasn't processed anything about that night. I also like to think Boyd and Ned were in a pretty intense relationship they didn't really put any name on. That would be hard to get closure from since it was never truly defined. That's about it, feel free to put Boyd (or Anmesty in general) thoughts in the comments! 
> 
> Title is from Hozier's "Almost (Sweet Music)" since I spent all my time editing listening to it on repeat. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Boyd pulls out some glossy photos of Amnesty Lodge and hands them to Ned. Between the distance, the lack of security at the Lodge and that fact that Boyd already did some of the pre-heist scouting, this job is a fucking breeze. Ned just has to slip in and out of the place with a two-foot sculpture. 

But the look on Ned’s face is not one that he was expecting. The discomfort that had been on Ned’s face since Boyd stepped into the car hadn’t eased into something more thoughtful like Boyd assumed it would. Ned isn’t considering this job at all. His eyes are wide and there’s something in them Boyd can’t describe. Ned’s fist is clenched around the photos, bending them inwards. 

“I can’t, Boyd,” he says. Ned shuffles through the photos again. Very few of them feature people, apparently, not many of the Amnesty Lodge’s guests like to come and go. There are hot springs out behind the back of the inn that frequently have guests but that’s about it. 

“Well, I can’t imagine why n—”

Ned shoves the photos back at Boyd and says, “I won’t do this for you. I have a-a reputation in this town now. Amnesty Lodge is, well, I work for it, okay? I’m not gonna steal from it and risk my fucking job.” 

Boyd raises his eyebrows and leans back, crossing his arms over his chest. He hadn’t seen Ned anywhere around the inn. And Ned said he had gone clean in this town but he had never been one to turn down an easy job. Robbery was a living for Ned but it was also a passion. He liked the act of pulling off a heist more than the money. 

“When has a risk of reputation ever stopped you from doing a job before?” he asks. 

“It’s not just reputation,” Ned says and rubs he back of his neck. “Mama— Madeleine Cobb or whatever you said her name was— she’ll kill me if she catches me.” He looks Boyd in the eye. “That’s not an exaggeration.” 

Boyd can’t help but laugh a little.“You call the acclaimed, mysteriously reclusive artist Madeleine Cobb ‘Mama?’” 

“That’s all I’ve ever known her as!” Ned is defensive. Boyd laughs a little again. “She introduces herself as Mama. I didn’t even know she was an artist.” Ned looks away. “Must be how she’s keeping the Lodge running,” he mumbles.

“You don’t know much about your boss, do you?”

“I know her better than you do. And I know she’ll kill me if she found out I stole from her, from the residents of the Lodge. Best case scenario I’d be forced out of Kepler.” 

Boyd takes a moment to look at Ned. He’s older now but somehow, fuller. His hair is totally grey but he looks healthier. Maybe it’s because he’s stationary now, not constantly riding the rails and on the run. He’d never imagined that Ned would actually settle down, years ago he thought he and Ned would be on the lam forever. 

Ned glances back up him, his brows furrowed and anger behind the eyes and Boyd is shaken out of his thoughtfulness. He doesn’t care that Ned’s life might be ruined by this job, Ned ruined his fucking life. 

“Ned, I’m sorry you’re closer to this job than I expected, but even you can admit you owe me. I went to prison and I lost everything. You had the privilege of a new life. You should help me create a new life for myself.” 

Boyd knows showing his own anger will just set Ned off. He opts to reach and touch his arm but Ned actually recoils. Boyd takes a deep breath. 

Ned takes a deep breath, too. “Things are different now. I’m different now. I can’t— if I let these people down, if I steal from them, I’m risking something much bigger than you or me. I care about the people in Kepler and the people in the Lodge. I can’t shirk off the responsibility I have now. It’s not right. I’m doing good, now. Actual good.” Ned folds his hands in his lap and looks out the windshield, and his voice softens. “I have friends relying on me, now.” 

Boyd physically reels back. He feels like he’s been slapped in the face and betrayal is swirling around in his stomach. He can’t help but be reminded of when he woke up in the wrecked car, Ned gone with anything he could carry. And what’s worse is there’s a part of Boyd that wants to be happy for Ned for turning his life around. He shoves that down. 

“You have friends, now? People relying on you, now? I was relying on you, Ned! And any opportunity you have now, you got by fucking me over! I personally don’t care about how much you’ve changed. We both fucked up majorly and I haven’t forgotten. You don’t get to forget what you did!” 

There’s a voice in the back of Boyd’s head telling him they should save this conversation for later. The car salesman will be back any minute. But his anger is spilling over the edge and Ned is already launching back at him. 

“I haven’t fucking forgotten that night! But I didn’t choose that house or that heist. W- You didn’t plan for things to go so far south! And what happened that night is so much worse than I knew. I’m already taking responsibility for the hand I had in that night.” He stops for a second. “Or at least I will.” He rubs his hands together. “Don’t push it all on me.” 

Boyd laughs but it’s bitter and sharp. “I’m not pushing it all on you, I’m asking you to repay me! The responsibility you’re taking better be paying me fucking back, Ned.” 

Ned sits back and speaks quietly. “A women died that night. She never would have died if we weren’t there.” 

Boyd’s anger is still boiling over. “I know someone died! I went to jail for it! They ruled the fire an accident, anyway, they couldn’t figure out where it came from. That wasn’t my fault yet I took the responsibility, Ned.” 

Thinking back on it, Boyd is so fucking glad he took a plea and never had to meet the woman’s family. He couldn’t bear facing them like that, even if it wasn’t actually his fault. 

Ned’s grip on his fingers is so tight his knuckles are white. He speaks so softly he’s almost whispering. “That fire never would have happened if we hadn’t been in that house. Never.” 

Boyd takes another deep breath. His anger lowered to a simmer. 

“We never have to talk again if you just help me now.” He ignores the twinge of sadness that pinches at his chest. “I’ll even help you finish the scouting. If you work there you can get in and out without suspicion much easier, right?” 

The car salesman is quickly approaching the giant van Ned is purchasing. “Look, just meet me here,” he hands Ned a map of the Lodge with an X marked in the woods on the edge of the property, “tomorrow at 9 and we can figure out what’s the best course of action.” 

“I need my fucking stuff back. A lot of it is shit, I’ll admit, but there’s stuff I need.” 

Boyd smiles. “You’ll get it when you help me out.” 

He hops out of the car and raises his hand to his head to give Ned a salute. “See you around, old friend.” 

He doesn’t wait for a response and doesn’t look back at Ned. God, he needs a drink.  
>>>

Boyd goes to the nearest grocery store he can find, a “Food Lion,” and grabs a bottle of cheap red wine. Then he heads right back to his motel room, which is surreptitiously stuffed with everything Ned had in the back room of the Cryptonomica. 

As “straight” as Ned had gone he hadn’t stopped fooling people out of their money, apparently. The museum was full of a bunch of cheap shit glued together. 

It also seemed like Ned’s employees were the only ones doing any work there. After days of scouting Boyd only saw him there a few times for a half an hour at most. And someone was living there, sleeping in a cot behind the front counter! Ned really needed to get his shit together with his business, he must be too focused on whatever cryptic fucking “good” job Ned has at the Amnesty Lodge. 

Boyd started to fume again. Now Ned had morals and cared about others. Guess Boyd had been a fucking fool longer than he thought. 

He takes a deep breath, he’s starting over. He swings open the door and is hit with a stale smell in the air.

The motel he’s staying at is extremely shitty. The ratty carpets are a putrid orange and they clash with the blinds which are a different, but equally ugly, shade of orange.

It reminds him of a motel he and Ned shared in some of the earlier days of their partnership. They were coming off of the best job they had pulled yet, a huge score with no complications during the heist and they had even stolen from some embezzler stealing funds from his employees. It was the perfect robbery. 

Boyd hid their money while Ned hid their gear and they both fell onto the bed next to each other in perfect sync. They’d been almost reading each other’s minds the whole night.  
Their shoulders were pressed up together and their feet hung off the edge of the bed. 

Boyd had always been one to work alone, and he knew Ned, Arturo at that time, had been, too. But they’d worked so well together and something about him and Ned just clicked. It felt so good he got swept up in the magic of the moment. 

“What will we do when we finally have enough that we don’t need to lead a life of crime anymore?” It was a silly question, Boyd knew they would never have a plan, and Ned answered exactly how Boyd thought he would. 

“Well, we’ll keep on pulling bigger and bigger heists. You and I, we’re probably the best thieves this country has ever seen. We get in get out, no problem.” Ned gestured wildly as he talked. “This is what we were made to do!” 

They glanced at each other and Boyd could seem some of the magic he was feeling behind Ned’s eyes, too. 

“Y’know Boyd Mosche is actually my real name. I was so distracted… by the craziness of the robbery that I didn’t even think to come up with a fake name.” 

Ned laughed a real, deep laugh. “I know Boyd, I can read you well enough by now. Your improv skills under pressure are just simply not award-winning.” Ned elbowed Boyd’s ribcage. 

“You know Arturo is not my real name, of course. But I like fake names. My birth name was lost a long time ago— probably the second I decided to become a thief.” 

He put his hands behind his head. “You can call me Ned, though. Ned Chicane. It’s as real a name as I have. You know chicanery means deception? It gives people a little clue as to who I am. Only my friends get to know it.” 

Ned looked at Boyd again and smiled. And Boyd smiled right back.  
>>>

Ned walks out of Amnesty Lodge, brows furrowed, at 9:12. He’s got a thermos in one hand and brown bag in the other. Boyd unlocks the car for him and Ned shifts the bag into his thermos hand to open the door. He steps in. 

“Okay, I’m here. I already told you I wouldn’t steal anything from the Lodge but I need my stuff. What’ll it take?” He sets his thermos in one of the cupholders and reaches into his brown bag pulling out a comically giant croissant. He takes a massive bite. 

“Well, hello to you, too,” Boyd says. “I already told you the terms of the deal, no negotiating.”

“The terms of the deal are shit.” Ned takes another bite. Mouth still full he says, “And I’m not gonna do it.” He swallows. “But I will indulge you for a minute. How would you steal from the Lodge?”  
Boyd blinks, surprised at the question. “Well, if I were you I would find where the piece is, walk in at a time I knew most people wouldn’t be up and around, put it in a bag, leave with it and give to old Boyd Mosche. Simple as that.” 

“It’s not as simple as you think. There’s always folks wandering around the Lodge, all the fucking time. And there’s a Fed in there looking to talk to me, though it’s not about what you would think.” He takes another bite. 

Boyd laughs. “A Fed? Looking for you? Shit, mate, bad luck. What’d you do?” 

Ned’s got a look on his face. He’s amused and pleased with himself, but Boyd hasn’t forgotten Ned has taken the conversation away from the point. Ned is good at not talking about things he doesn’t want to talk about. 

Ned clasps his hands together and says, “Believe it or not, he’s looking for a video I have of Bigfoot. Trying to see if he’s real. You know that’s an actual division of the FBI? Fucking crazy. Anyway, the Fed has only seen part of the footage— you can catch it on my website the Lamplighter by the way— and he wants the rest.” 

Ned was right, this isn’t what Boyd was expecting at all. “So, do you have a video of the real Bigfoot?” 

Ned looks him in the eye, a glint of something flashing in his own. “What do you think?” 

Boyd laughs a real, deep laugh, one Ned used to be pretty good at pulling out of him. “You absolutely do not have footage of the real Bigfoot.” 

As angry as he is with Ned, as much as Ned well and truly fucked him over, Boyd missed this. He and Ned were good partners. He wishes that night had gone differently. 

They both look back out the Lodge and sit in silence for a few moments. 

“So, Ned, when will I have my cut?” Boyd asks

“I told you, I won’t do it. I won’t necessarily stop you if you want to steal it yourself, but I won’t directly hurt the people in there. It’s too big a risk,” Ned says. 

Ned is being so fucking vague, it’s infuriating. What makes the people in there any different than anyone else? What is Ned risking other than his own sense of pride and security? 

“What are you risking other than your own sense of pride and security, Ned?” Boyd asks.

“Can’t tell you, pal. Mama’d kill me,” he says. This was so fucking confusing. “Look, just give me the necklace, okay? The one from that night. I can live without everything else but I need th—” 

“Hey, Ned, how’s it going?” A young woman with dark skin, bright red hair and black sunglasses is approaching the car. Boyd had seen her around the Lodge a few times during his scouting.  
Boyd notices three things in that moment. One, Ned looks the most scared Boyd has ever seen him, but he’s able to school his expression to mild discomfort pretty quickly. He hadn’t truly realized it until this moment, but two, he’s going by Ned Chicane in this town which means he really must be settled here. And three, the woman looks concerned. 

“Ah, Aubrey, how good to see you! I’m just swell and how are you?” Ned is putting on a show. Both Boyd and this woman, Aubrey, notice.

“I’m good. Just checking up on you. Barclay said he sent you off with some food and you’ve just been sitting in this car for a while. Is everything okay? Who’s this?” She looks at Boyd and gives a tight smile. She doesn’t trust him and isn’t afraid to show it. 

It’s weird to see a woman this young have such protective energy over a man as old as Ned, but she’s here for him. It’s weird to see someone have Ned’s back like that. 

“Everything’s fine, just catching up with an old friend. I’m really all right!” The smile on his face is more convincing now. “This is someone I know from way back—” 

“Arturo Copperthwaite, pleased to meet you,” Boyd interjects. 

Ned manages to keep his surprise contained, but Boyd knows him well enough to know it got under his skin. “And who might you be?” Boyd asks. 

“I’m a friend of Ned’s. We work together. I’m Aubrey Little,” she says.

Now it’s Boyd’s turn to school his own facial expressions. He just the second, and biggest, realization in this car. 

Aubrey Little is the name of the daughter of the woman who died during their break-in that night. He’ll never forget their names. Ned does “good work” with someone he stole from and caused immeasurable pain. That must be what he’s taking responsibility for. That must be what he needs the necklace for. Boyd considers telling her all this for a second but he doesn’t have it in him to hurt this woman, all for what? Revenge?

So, instead he says, “it’s a pleasure to meet you,” and extends a hand. She reaches for it, leaning over Ned to grab it.

“Well, Aubrey, I appreciate you checking up on me but I think you can grab one of those croissants Barclay made! They’re delicious!” Ned says. 

She takes the hint and heads back into the Lodge, waving behind her and calling, “See you later for the meeting, Ned! Nice meeting you, Arturo!” 

Ned takes a deep breath and looks at Boyd, and Boyd knows he looking for whether he caught onto what just happened. 

Boyd nods. 

“Fuck,” Ned says. 

“I won’t tell her. It’s not fair to her,” Boyd says. 

Ned breathes a sigh of relief. “I’ll tell her. Soon. There just hasn’t been a right time. And, fuck, she’s gonna be so upset. We’re friends, I don’t— It sucks to have to do that to her. To have done that to her,” Ned says.

Boyd feels guilty, too. But he’s felt this guilt for a long time, he’s dealt with it. And he can’t help that feeling of betrayal again. Did Ned feel guilty at all about what he did to him? Sure the circumstances were different and they knew they could never fully trust each other but it felt, it seemed like they could. 

“As sad as this is, I still need to start over, Ned. Help me go home,” Boyd says. 

He doesn’t know what Ned is thinking. 

“Fuck,” Ned says again. Then Ned scribbles a phone number on a piece of paper he dug out of Boyd’s glove box, steps out of the car and walks back into the Lodge.


End file.
